Reza Ghodssi

Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices have long been evolving and are now referred to as the “quiet revolution.” More than ever, they play a significant role and integrate seamlessly into our everyday lives through point-of-care devices, environmental monitoring tools, autonomous vehicles, and mobile devices, to name but a few. Their design and development now demand holistic system-oriented approaches and analyses, including considerations for functional materials and systems integration challenges to provide successful solutions for the real world. The research in our group focuses on design, fabrication, and technology development using micro-nano-bio engineering approaches toward translational healthcare applications. The centerpiece of our device development efforts is “systems integration” with a focus on gastrointestinal diagnostics, bacterial biofilm monitoring and inhibition, and Lab-on-a-Chip sensing platforms for investigating gut-brain cross-talk. This is complemented by efforts in energy harvesting, conversion, and storage to power embedded, self-sustaining MEMS sensors and actuators. Our devices incorporate system-oriented design elements relying on MEMS materials and fabrication technology, novel biosensing and biofabrication processes, microelectronics integration, and 3-D printed packaging techniques. Our interdisciplinary research and educational endeavors are in collaboration with colleagues in science, engineering, and healthcare fields where team-oriented mentoring results in pursuing exciting prospects for endless discovery and learning.